He implemented reforms, strengthened the dynasty, and ruled with authority that would later mark him as one of the greatest emperors of his age. But the first act of his independence was not political.
It was personal.
He brought Feng Run back from the temple. He restored her to the palace and placed her once more within reach of his heart.
But time had changed everything. Feng Qing still held the title of empress, while Feng Run returned without equal status. Yet her heart no longer belonged to the emperor. It belonged to Gao Pusa.
Seeking power to protect her secret love, Feng Run began to undermine her sister Feng Qing. Through quite manipulation and humiliation, she turned the emperor's perception until Feng Qing was stripped of her position.
Feng Run became empress. But her heart did not return to Tuoba Hong.
Whenever the emperor left for war, Gao Pusa was secretly brought into the palace. And slowly, whispers spread through the court.
Rumors became certainty. But Tuoba Hong refused to believe them. Even when doubts reached him, he dismissed them. His love for Feng Run was still too deep, too rooted in his memory.
Then Feng Qing learned the truth. She tried to warn the emperor, but he refused to trust her words. Enraged and desperate, Feng Run attempted to silence her sister.
But Feng Qing escaped and rode to the battlefield where Tuoba Hong was stationed. There, she finally convinced him. The emperor returned to the capital in silence. He summoned Gao Pusa.
And the physician confessed everything.
The meetings. The affair. The betrayal.
Tuoba Hong, who had survived politics, war, and the cruelty of dynasties, could not survive this.
The realization shattered him. The woman he had loved since youth had belonged to another man in his absence.
His heart broke beyond repair. Soon after, Tuoba Hong fell into deep depression.
His health declined rapidly, and in time, he died in his thirties. Before his death, he issued one final decree. Feng Run was to be buried with him but not beside him, not in honor, but at a distance, as a final expression of love turned into grief and betrayal.
Jin Mulan walked beside Luo He, still mildly irritated from earlier. He looked unusually calm now. No teasing, no jokes.
Just that thoughtful silence he sometimes fell into before saying something dangerous. After a while, Luo He spoke. "Let me ask you something," he said.
"If you were that emperor, and your love betrayed you, what would you do?" Jin Mulan glanced at him. "That depends on how."
"Let's say emotional betrayal. Another man. Secret meetings. Humiliation. Political risk."
She paused, then answered coldly.
"I would remove her from the palace. Strip her title. Break her influence. And ensure the man never threatens the court again."
Her tone sharpened slightly. "Betrayal cannot be forgiven inside a throne room."
Luo He gave a small, approving hum. "That's very efficient."
Jin Mulan frowned. "It's necessary."
Luo He stopped walking briefly. "No," he said quietly. "That is anger trying to sound like necessity." She turned to him fully now.
"What would you do then?" Luo He resumed walking. "I would not kill her," he said. "Nor punish her in rage." Jin Mulan narrowed her eyes. "That sounds like mercy."
"It isn't," he replied. "It's distance." He continued calmly. "I would send her away. To the temple. No court. No power. And I would allow her to remain with the man she chose."
Jin Mulan frowned. "That sounds like letting them go unpunished." Luo He shook his head slightly. "It's not freedom. It's consequence."
He paused for a moment, then added more quietly, "But I would take away all what I gave for her. At least what I can take back." Jin Mulan stopped walking.
"That's not very cruel." She said. "Perhaps," he admitted. "But it ensures truth replaces illusion. Love built on beauty and secrecy doesn't last forever."
He glanced at her. "When it fades, she will be left with what she chose. And he will eventually move on as well. That is human nature."
Jin Mulan's expression darkened slightly. "So your punishment is just slower suffering on letting her feel what she left behind." Luo He shrugged lightly.
"I prefer meaningful outcomes over emotional impulses." Then he looked at her more directly. "And this is important, if you ever betrayed me, I would not kill you." Her eyes narrowed.
"I would let you leave," he said simply. "If you truly wanted someone else, I would not force you to stay. Even if it hurt." The words landed heavier than expected.
Jin Mulan looked at him for a long moment, then quietly said, "You make it sound like you don't care." Luo He smiled faintly.
"No. I care enough not to destroy what I once loved." Silence followed between them as the palace gates drew closer, the world ahead waiting with all its quiet, dangerous politics.
Jin Mulan was briefly too shocked to even close her mouth despite all her norbal demeanor training and martial arts Practitioning.
They walked in silence for a few more steps before she spoke again, quieter now. "So you really believe removing someone's ability to be with you is punishment enough?"
Luo He didn't rush his reply this time. "No. He said confidently. Killing ends a person. Torture only satisfies anger. But consequence… consequence continues."
By the time Luo He finished the story, the towering inner gates of the imperial palace had already appeared before them.
Massive walls stretched toward the heavens while golden dragons curled around thick black pillars beside the entrance.
Armored palace guards stood motionless beneath fluttering imperial banners as streams of ministers, servants, and nobles moved carefully through the heavily guarded checkpoint.
The atmosphere itself felt different there.
Sharper. Colder. Every smile carried calculation. Every bow carried hidden meaning.
Luo He merely smiled calmly. Beside him, Jin Mulan unconsciously tightened her fingers around his hand. The two walked forward together like a noble couple.
Who are leisurely entering a banquet rather than stepping into the political heart of an empire preparing for succession.
The guards carrying the concealed dark cloud shuttle stopped several distances behind while Fei and the others remained outside the inner district entirely, at Luo He's outer mansion. Only Luo He and Jin Mulan approached the gate itself.
A palace guard immediately lowered their spear slightly across the two people's path. "State your identity and purpose," the guard captain said coldly.
Luo He looked almost offended by the formality.
"I am Jin He," he answered casually. "His Highness the Crown Prince invited me for a chess match at his residence." Then he smiled lightly afterward. "So unless the palace moved somewhere else this morning I believe I am standing at the correct gate."
Several nearby guards exchanged glances. Jin Mulan lowered her eyes slightly, already sensing trouble coming.
One of the guards stepped forward quickly afterward. "Please wait here while this servant confirms the matter."
Luo He waved lazily. "Go ahead." The guard hurried into the palace interior.
Then nothing happened. Minutes slowly passed beneath the cold morning sunlight while servants and officials continuously entered and exited through the gates around them.
Luo He remained completely relaxed.
Jin Mulan, however, slowly narrowed her eyes. "He is taking his time," she muttered quietly. "Mmm," Luo He answered calmly. "You expected this?"
She asked.
"I would have been disappointed otherwise." He responded casually. Jin Mulan looked sideways at him. "You really enjoy provoking powerful people?" She asked casually. "Indeed," Luo He said lazily.
"And why do you think I had to leave home in the first place?" Luo He suddenly asked while the two waited patiently.
Jin Mulan glanced sideways at him.
"Maybe because you offended someone important?" she guessed. Luo He laughed immediately.
"Some what?" He said interestingly.
"That answer concerns me." She said.
"It should." He laughed. Then Luo He stretched lazily before continuing.
"I kept on annoying my the most powerful and feared man in the realm, my father." He admitted shamelessly. "And relentlessly at that." He immediately followed up.
"How badly?" She asked curiously.
Luo He looked thoughtful. "Well, one time I replaced an entire military strategy meeting with fake documents, just to see how long it would take before anyone noticed."
Jin Mulan nearly choked. "You did what?" she asked in disbelief. Luo He looked completely unashamed. "They argued over nonexistent troop movements for three hours. Three whole hours." He said proudly.
Jin Mulan stared at him like she had just discovered her husband was mentally unstable. "That is not a prank," she said flatly. "That is attempted political assassination. Thousands could have died because of your stupidity." She said firmly.
Then she pointed directly at him with absolute disbelief written across her face. "You are an idiot," Jin Mulan declared harshly. "An actual idiot. I am ashamed to call you my husband."
Several nearby guards instinctively lowered their heads further, pretending very hard not to listen. Jin Mulan continued anyway.